criminology

Running Head : Criminal Profiling The Role of Profiling in Investigation of Violent Crime

Student

School Abstract

Profiling a criminal according to his /her behavior during the crime and clues left behind at the crime scene is a relatively new procedure in the criminal investigator 's repertoire . Since its humble beginnings as a way for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to make his fictional character Sherlock Holmes impress readers with his investigative prowess , profiling has come a long way and enjoyed its share of media fame . This article will examine the

origins and concepts behind this technique as well as its future in apprehension of serial and violent criminals The Role of Profiling in Criminal Investigation

It was December 2 , 1956 , New York . Residents of the city were filled with trepidation as they anxiously scanned the morning 's edition of the Herald Tribune and found news of the latest Mad Bomber ' attack . For the past fifteen years New Yorkers had been under siege . This latest bombing had targeted the Paramount Theatre in Brooklyn , ripping apart seats and injuring six people , three of them seriously (Brussel 1968

The New York City Police Commissioner , Stephen

. Kennedy , made an announcement to inform the citizens of New York that he would make unusual efforts ' to capture the Mad Bomber . The police inspector working the case was cleared to contact Dr . James Brussel , a noted psychiatrist , hoping to gain some insight into the type of person they were dealing with and help them focus their investigation toward appropriate avenues to apprehend the criminal

After studying the evidence and the facts in the case , Dr . Brussel came to these very specific conclusions : The bomber was male and worked with metal of some sort . He was most likely a current or past employee of Con Ed , a New York utility , as the company had been specifically targeted and referred to in the past . The bomber was clinically paranoid , of a symmetric athletic build , middle-aged , decently educated , had an unusually close relationship with his mother , an unmarried loner with little interest in women who lived in nearby Connecticut with a female relative , Slavish of ethnicity , Roman Catholic , with a chronic heart condition . At the end of Dr . Brussel 's conversation with the inspector he stated

When you catch him .he 'll be wearing a double-breasted suit

In January of 1957 , police arrested George Metesky (last name changed by his mother from the middle-European Milauskas ) for the crimes attributed to the Mad Bomber . He was an unmarried man living with his two single sisters , a former employee of Con Ed who was no longer able to work due to a chronic condition as the result of an on-the-job accident . The arresting officers asked him to get dressed for a trip to the metropolitan police station and he reappeared moments later wearing a blue pin-striped double-breasted suit . It was buttoned (Brussel 1968

How was Dr . Brussel able to pinpoint the bomber in such detail ? By using profiling of evidence found at...